Mountaintop removal mining processes wipe out wildlife habitats, destroy landscapes, and have the potential for human disaster.
About Mountaintop Removal
Mountaintop removal is a controversial method of extracting coal from the ground. The process occurs precisely as it sounds: using blasting and earth-moving equipment, mountains in the Appalachian range are being dismantled in pursuit of “cheap” coal.
Once an area is marked for mountaintop removal, the process begins with the rapid deforestation of the land, stripping it of vegetation and destroying animal habitats. Next, blasting is used to remove several hundred feet of soil and rock to reach the coal seam. Then, machines called draglines are brought in to scoop out coal and rock. Debris is dumped into valleys, further flattening the land.[i]
Environmental Impact
In the United States today, mountaintop removal occurs in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, covering an area upwards of 1,000 square miles.[i] This is approximately equivalent to stripping and flattening an area the size of Rensselaer and Albany Counties combined.[ii] This stripping of the land can lead to, among many other consequences, increased runoff and downstream flooding.[iii]
Mountaintop removal has a huge negative impact on the environment. The EPA estimates that by 2001, over 1,000 miles of streams had been buried due to mountaintop removal operations.[i] A 2010 article in the journal Science noted a decrease in fish variety in rivers near mining operations due to increased concentrations of metals and other contaminants.[iii]
After coal is extracted, it is processed on-site before shipping. The leftover slurry from this processing is stored in massive pools. The sludge contains mercury, arsenic, selenium, and lead, among other harmful compounds, contaminating the groundwater and rivers.[iv]
The habitat depletion and contamination displaces and kills an unknown amount of wildlife each year. However, according to The Nature Conservancy, the region where mountaintop removal occurs is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States.[i] The continuation of these processes would be a tragic loss.
Human Costs
On December 22, 2008, a dike holding back one of these sludge pools breached, releasing over a billion gallons of toxic material. The flow destroyed three homes and contaminated the Emory River. Nearly 200 property owners were forced off their land. The Tennessee Valley Authority expects to spend approximately $1.2 billion cleaning up the disaster.[iv] It is impossible to predict when and where the next breach might occur.
Surface mining operations have a health impact on people living in the surrounding area. The aforementioned Sciencearticle also notes that nearby human populations have higher rates of heart disease, lung cancer, and mortality, among other ill effects.[iii]
What Can Be Done?
Unfortunately, the damage that has already been done by mountaintop removal appears irreversible. The most important thing that can be done to reduce the future impact of mountaintop removal is to stop it as soon as possible. Fortunately, mountaintop removal mining accounts for less than 5% of coal production in the United States, according to the EPA.[i] This means that, with the development of renewable energy production (see “More Information,” below), mountaintop removal can be curtailed and stopped with minimal impact on U.S. energy capacity.
Decreasing energy waste and supporting clean energy policies can help stop mountaintop removal and allow the millennia-long healing process to begin.
Mountaintop removal mining processes wipe out wildlife habitats, destroy landscapes, and have the potential for human disaster.
About Mountaintop Removal
Mountaintop removal is a controversial method of extracting coal from the ground. The process occurs precisely as it sounds: using blasting and earth-moving equipment, mountains in the Appalachian range are being dismantled in pursuit of “cheap” coal.
Once an area is marked for mountaintop removal, the process begins with the rapid deforestation of the land, stripping it of vegetation and destroying animal habitats. Next, blasting is used to remove several hundred feet of soil and rock to reach the coal seam. Then, machines called draglines are brought in to scoop out coal and rock. Debris is dumped into valleys, further flattening the land.[i]
Environmental Impact
In the United States today, mountaintop removal occurs in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, covering an area upwards of 1,000 square miles.[i] This is approximately equivalent to stripping and flattening an area the size of Rensselaer and Albany Counties combined.[ii] This stripping of the land can lead to, among many other consequences, increased runoff and downstream flooding.[iii]
Mountaintop removal has a huge negative impact on the environment. The EPA estimates that by 2001, over 1,000 miles of streams had been buried due to mountaintop removal operations.[i] A 2010 article in the journal Science noted a decrease in fish variety in rivers near mining operations due to increased concentrations of metals and other contaminants.[iii]
After coal is extracted, it is processed on-site before shipping. The leftover slurry from this processing is stored in massive pools. The sludge contains mercury, arsenic, selenium, and lead, among other harmful compounds, contaminating the groundwater and rivers.[iv]
The habitat depletion and contamination displaces and kills an unknown amount of wildlife each year. However, according to The Nature Conservancy, the region where mountaintop removal occurs is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States.[i] The continuation of these processes would be a tragic loss.
Human Costs
On December 22, 2008, a dike holding back one of these sludge pools breached, releasing over a billion gallons of toxic material. The flow destroyed three homes and contaminated the Emory River. Nearly 200 property owners were forced off their land. The Tennessee Valley Authority expects to spend approximately $1.2 billion cleaning up the disaster.[iv] It is impossible to predict when and where the next breach might occur.
Surface mining operations have a health impact on people living in the surrounding area. The aforementioned Sciencearticle also notes that nearby human populations have higher rates of heart disease, lung cancer, and mortality, among other ill effects.[iii]
What Can Be Done?
Unfortunately, the damage that has already been done by mountaintop removal appears irreversible. The most important thing that can be done to reduce the future impact of mountaintop removal is to stop it as soon as possible. Fortunately, mountaintop removal mining accounts for less than 5% of coal production in the United States, according to the EPA.[i] This means that, with the development of renewable energy production (see “More Information,” below), mountaintop removal can be curtailed and stopped with minimal impact on U.S. energy capacity.
Decreasing energy waste and supporting clean energy policies can help stop mountaintop removal and allow the millennia-long healing process to begin.
More Information
Costs of various energy production technologies, from the National Renewable Energy Laboratories. Worth noting is the fact that the region where mountaintop removal occurs is rich in wind power capacity.
For further information on mountaintop removal, please visit the following sites:
Sources
[i] "Frequently Asked Questions about Mountaintop Removal". Appalachian Voices. Retrieved 19 Sep 2011.
[ii] National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx
[iii] Palmer, M., et al. “Mountaintop Mining Consequences.” Science 327 (2010): 148-149.
[iv] “Testimony opens in trial over TVA coal ash spill.” Associated Press, 19 Sep 2011. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/19/ap/business/main20108470.shtml
/business/main20108470.shtml
Image sources
Top Left (biodiversity map): The Nature Conservancy, via Appalachian Voices
Right, top and bottom (Graham Mountain before and after mining): Graham Mountain Foundation, Inc.
Bottom center (mountaintop removal process): Adapted from Mountain Justice
Bottom left (sludge spill): J. Miles Carey, Knoxville News Sentinel